Can I be made to pay my parent’s care home fees?

No. In England, adult children have no legal duty to pay for a parent’s care home fees, and the council cannot count your income, savings or home when it works out what your parent pays. You only become personally liable if you take that on yourself, most often by signing a care home contract as a guarantor or agreeing to pay a top-up, or if your parent gave you money or property to avoid care charges.

In short

• The council’s means test looks only at your parent’s money. Under the Care Act 2014 each person is assessed individually, so a child’s (or even a spouse’s) resources are not added in.
• Signing a contract as a guarantor makes you liable if your parent’s fees go unpaid. Signing as their attorney or representative usually does not.
• A third-party top-up is a voluntary promise. Agree to pay, say, £150 a week and you owe it: £7,800 a year.
• If your parent gave you assets to dodge care fees, section 70 of the Care Act 2014 lets the council recover the shortfall from you, capped at the value you received.
• As an attorney or deputy you must pay the fees from your parent’s money. Using it for yourself can make you personally accountable.
• Your parent is means-tested only if their capital is £23,250 or less (2026/27). Above that they self-fund, but family still does not have to pay.

Why children are not liable by default

Care home fees are your parent’s debt, not the family’s. When a council arranges care it carries out a financial assessment of the person who needs care. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance is explicit that a council has no power to assess couples on their joint resources and must treat each person individually. If a husband or wife is not assessed on a partner’s money, a son or daughter certainly is not.

If your mum has £18,000 in savings and her State Pension, those are the figures that count. Your salary, house or ISA play no part. If she runs short, the council steps in once her capital falls to £23,250, not you. Our guide to what happens when money runs out in a care home explains that hand-over.

The four situations where you can end up paying

1. Signing the care home contract as guarantor

Some homes ask a relative to act as guarantor for a self-funding resident. A guarantor promises to pay if the resident stops paying. Consumer law advice from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says homes must explain upfront when a guarantor is needed, what the guarantor’s role is, when they become liable and how far that liability could go. A hidden guarantee may be unfair, but you do not want to test that in court.

Watch for wording such as “the undersigned agrees to be jointly and severally liable” or a signature box labelled “responsible person” or “sponsor”. Read the care home contract line by line before signing anything.

Worked example

Priya signs her father’s contract as guarantor. His fees are £1,450 a week. His savings run down faster than expected and three months of fees, about £18,850, are left unpaid while the council reassesses. Because Priya guaranteed the debt, the home can pursue her for it. Had she signed only as his attorney, the home’s claim would have been against her father and, later, his estate.

2. Agreeing to pay a top-up

When the council funds a place but your parent prefers a home that costs more than the council’s rate, someone has to cover the gap. This is a care home top-up. Usually a relative pays it, because residents can only top up from their own money in limited cases, such as during the 12-week property disregard or under a deferred payment agreement.

The statutory guidance says the council should make sure the person paying is willing and able to do so, set the arrangement out in writing and explain how price rises will be shared. If the payer can no longer afford it, the council may recover any outstanding debt and can look at moving your parent to a home within its rate, after a fresh needs assessment.

Example: the council’s rate is £950 a week and the chosen home charges £1,100. You agree to pay the £150 difference. Over two years that is £15,600, and it can grow if the home’s fees rise faster than the council’s rate. Get the review terms in writing first.

3. Gifts and transfers from your parent

If your parent hands you cash, shares or their house, and the main purpose was to avoid care charges, the council can treat them as still owning it. This is deprivation of assets. There is no time limit; the 7-year rule is an inheritance tax concept and does not protect gifts from care charges.

Section 70 of the Care Act 2014 goes further. Where your parent’s care is council-arranged and a transfer was made to avoid charges for less than full value, the person who received it can be made to pay the council the charges it lost, up to the value of what they received. If several children shared a gift, each is liable in proportion to their share.

Example: Dad gives his two sons £30,000 each a year before moving into a care home, leaving himself with £15,000. The council decides the gift was deprivation. It can assess Dad as if he still had the £60,000, and it can pursue each son for up to £30,000. Trusts raise similar questions; see putting a house in trust.

4. Your duties as attorney or deputy

Many children hold a property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney or deputyship. That role lets you pay the care home from your parent’s accounts. It does not make the fees your debt. But the Office of the Public Guardian expects attorneys to act in the donor’s best interests, keep their money separate from yours and keep records. If you let bills go unpaid while using your parent’s money elsewhere, or move it into your own name, you can be asked to repay it and may be removed as attorney.

Pay fees from your parent’s own account, claim benefits such as Attendance Allowance, keep receipts, and tell the council when capital nears £23,250 so funding starts on time.

How to sign the care home paperwork safely

1. Find out who the contract is with. For a self-funder it should be with your parent. If the council funds the place, the main contract is between the council and the home.
2. Sign in the right capacity. Write “[your name] as attorney for [parent’s name]” if you hold a registered LPA. Never sign as “resident” or “client”.
3. Strike out or refuse a guarantee you are not willing to give. Ask the home to confirm in writing that you are signing only as representative.
4. Get the fee review clause in writing. CMA advice says terms should explain how fees change and give at least 28 days’ notice.
5. For a top-up, sign only the council’s top-up agreement, with the amount, review dates and what happens if you cannot continue.

If your parent has not yet had a financial assessment, use our funding checker to see whether they are likely to get council help.

What about after your parent dies?

Any unpaid fees become a debt of your parent’s estate, not of the children. Executors pay them from the estate before beneficiaries inherit. If the estate is not enough, the shortfall is not passed to family unless one of the exceptions above applies. Our guide to unpaid care home fees after death covers this in detail.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The basic principle is the same across the UK: care charges are assessed on the resident’s own resources and children are not expected to pay. Each nation sets its own capital limits and allowances, and Scotland provides free personal and nursing care for eligible adults. Guarantor and gift rules work similarly; check with the council or Health and Social Care Trust.

Frequently asked questions

Do children have to pay for their parents’ care home fees in the UK?

No. Adult children have no legal duty to pay. The council assesses only the parent’s income and capital, and in England a parent with £23,250 or less in capital gets help with fees. You become liable only if you sign as guarantor, agree a top-up, or received assets your parent gave away to avoid care charges.

Can the council take my house to pay for my mum’s care?

Not your house. The council can only take account of property your parent owns. If your parent gave you their home to avoid fees, the council may treat it as deprivation of assets and, under section 70 of the Care Act 2014, recover lost charges from you up to the value you received.

What happens if I signed my dad’s care home contract?

It depends on the capacity you signed in. Signing as his attorney or representative normally means the debt stays his. Signing as guarantor or ‘responsible person’ can make you liable if fees go unpaid. Ask the home in writing which it is, and get advice if the contract is unclear.

Can I stop paying a care home top-up?

You can ask for a review, but the top-up is a written agreement, so arrears can be recovered from you. If you cannot continue, the council may reassess and offer a home within its rate. For example, stopping a £150 a week top-up could mean a move unless another payer steps in.

Is my spouse responsible for my care home fees?

No. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance says councils cannot assess couples on joint resources. Each person is assessed on their own money, though jointly owned savings are usually split equally. A spouse can choose to pay a top-up but is not obliged to.

Can I be made to pay care home fees if I am my parent’s attorney?

Not from your own money. As attorney you must pay fees from your parent’s funds and act in their best interests. You can be asked to repay money only if you misused it, for example by moving it into your own account or using it for your own bills.

Sources

• Care Act 2014, section 70: transfer of assets to avoid charges
• Care and Support Statutory Guidance (DHSC)
• CMA: care homes consumer rights for residents and their families
• Office of the Public Guardian: manage a lasting power of attorney
• Social care charging 2026 to 2027: local authority circular

General information, not legal or financial advice. Figures for 2026/27, checked October 2026.

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 29 October 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.